Sit down and take a deep breath, the Bucks lose money each year

So Don Walker of JSOnline.com posted a story where Sen. Herb Kohl admitted that the Milwaukee Bucks lose money, at least in recent years. (blog link)

According to ESPN.com’s attendance report, the bucks are toward the bottom of the league, with about 83% attendance on average.  No surprise really, as the closest they’ve come to winning in recent memory is an overhyped trip to the Eastern Finals, which happened 4 coaches and 2 GMs ago.  Is it any shock that fans aren’t willing to drop a lot of money on a team that always finishes under .500, tanks the end of each season, can’t keep a coach, signs players like Dan Gadzuric to monster contracts, and has 3 lottery picks that are bigger stars overseas than in the NBA?  Let’s face it, the team is pathetic.  Hats off to Kohl for wanting to keep the Bucks in Milwaukee, but is it really worth it?  At some point it will come down to a new arena being essential.  When that happens, the Bucks are going to look to Milwaukee, who is still trying to pay off Miller Park, to front the cash.  We will likely end up with the same mess the Seattle fans are in.  A struggling team that can’t turn a profit being forced to leave town because the city won’t suffer financially over a bad investment.  I say treat them like any other local business… if they aren’t worth spending money on, it’s time to close shop.